Margot Bateman is chairwoman of the Welsh Development Agency's agri-food partnership aquaculture and fisheries strategy group and runs the largest trout farm in Wales. Here she outlines what is happening to make customers choose Welsh fish for supper

THINK of Wales, and you most likely think of water.

Wales' most prolific resource drives a fishery and aquaculture industry worth &#xA3;130m a year. But until recently, very little effort was put into promoting or marketing the fish produced in Wales.

Earlier this year, the agri-food partnership launched a strategy to set out the way forward for Wales' aquaculture and fisheries industry.

Aquaculture defines the propagation and breeding of fish in captivity, while inshore fisheries refer to the catching of wild fish and shellfish for the table. A clear marketing strategy for Welsh fish is our number one aim.

The health benefits of eating fish are well known and nutritionists recommend eating fish, especially oily fish, twice a week. But we want consumers to choose Welsh fish. The Scots have done this very successfully - Scottish salmon is world-renowned and commands a price premium.

Wales is a country of clear lakes, rushing rivers, crashing waterfalls and wild seas. We must capitalise on this image so that fish from Wales becomes a brand that consumers can recognise and trust.

And once the brand is right, we must tell customers about it. The Welsh Development Agency is helping us to promote our produce under the industry brand True Taste, and promotional materials are in the pipeline.

Fish dishes featured prominently in the recipes in the True Taste calendar this year. Events like Pembrokeshire Fish Week, The Anglesey Oyster and Welsh Produce Festival and the Swansea Cockle Festival all help to highlight the availability and quality of Welsh fish.

There is plenty of choice. Menai Strait oysters and mussels, spider crabs from West Wales, and lobsters from all around the coast, seabass, mackerel, turbot and trout.

What could be tastier than trout with a cheese and leek sauce? And all the ingredients are found in Wales. Increasing processing capacity so that meals like this can be made in Wales is another key aim.

Secondly, we want to ensure that our fish is of the highest quality. This means having a good distribution system so that the fish is properly chilled and despatched in prime condition. Good, fresh fish sells itself.

Thirdly, we want to encourage sustainability. We want to leave as small as possible a footprint on the environment. AquaWales was set up under the guidance of Swansea University earlier this year to co-ordinate research into aquaculture with the aim of ensuring all our systems are environmentally sound.

Working together we can achieve these aims. It is already happening - co-operatives such as those on the Lln Peninsula, Cardigan Bay and in South West Wales mean that people in the industry are talking to one another and sharing best practice. Smaller associations like these are working very well.

There is a lot of work to be done. Until now Welsh fish has had no image to speak of. But we can use this to our advantage because we are working on a blank canvas.